The Race to Death's Door
by DragonWriter357
Summary: My first fanfic, Sorry if summary is bad. Continued after The Mark of Athena. Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, and have to fight their way through all their old enemies to reach the doors of death- Percy tries to shield Annabeth. All of the other Demigods on the Argo ll get new powers (become even more awesome). Rewrite of HOH- a few spoilers. Percabeth. Rated T just in case.
1. Into the Pit

**Sup, readers! This fanfic begins with Percy and Annabeth falling into Tartarus (continued after the end of the Mark of Athena). Because of that, it has some things in common with The House of Hades. This is my first fanfic and your support means everything! Hope you like it, and I'll try to update as fast as I can.**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, and all characters belong to the one and awesome Rick Riordan.**

**Chapter 1: Into the Pit**

"_Her body slammed into something. She must have blacked out briefly from the pain. When she could see again, she realized that she'd fallen partway into the pit and was dangling over the void. Percy had managed to grab a ledge about fifteen feet below the top of the chasm. He was holding on with one hand, gripping Annabeth's wrist with the other, but the pull on her leg was much too strong._

_ No escape, said a voice in the darkness below. I go to Tartarus, and you will come too._

_Annabeth wasn't sure if she actually heard Arachne's voice or if it was just in her mind._

_ The pit shook. Percy was the only thing keeping her from falling. He was barely holding on to a ledge the size of a bookshelf._

_ Nico leaned over the edge of the chasm, thrusting out his hand, but he was much too far away to help. Hazel was yelling for the others, but even if they heard her over all the chaos, they'd never make it in time._

_ Annabeth's leg felt like it was pulling free of her body. Pain washed everything in red. The force of the Underworld tugged at her like dark gravity. She didn't have the strength to fight. She knew she was too far down to be saved._

_ "Percy, let me go," she croaked. "You can't pull me up."_

_ His face was white with effort. She could see in his eyes that he knew it was hopeless._

_ 'Never,' he said. He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?" _

_Nico's eyes widened. "But-"_

_"Lead them there!" Percy shouted. "Promise me!" _

_"I- I will."_

_Below them, the voice laughed in the darkness. _Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess.

_Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had__ never looked more handsome. _

_"We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again." _

_"As long as we're together," she said. _

_She heard Nico and Hazel still screaming for help. She saw the sunlight far, far above- maybe the last sunlight she would ever see. _

_Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness._**" (pg. 567-568 of "The Mark of Athena")**

**-3rd person, Annabeth-**

After Percy let go of the ledge, Annabeth had tried to keep back her despair, but couldn't contain the sob that burst from her mouth. She was falling into freaking TARTARUS for Hades sake! Somehow Percy, who was still holding her hand tightly, heard her cry over the strong wind and immediately brought her into a hug, where she finally broke down and began sobbing into his shirt. It was comfortingly orange, albeit dirty.

"Why, Percy. Oh why did you have to be such a brave Kelp Head!" she started ranting "There was no way you could have cut Arachne's web, and you could have gotten out if you had let me go, and it was all my fault for not cutting the web earlier, and you're more important to the quest than me, and you should have just let me go! Now we are literally falling into Hell, and it's my entire fault."

Annabeth sobbed and cried silently into Percy's shirt. He, sensing what she must be thinking, squeezed her hand and hugged her more tightly, and then began whispering how much he loved her into her ear.

"Stop crying, Annabeth. None of this is your fault; you _did_ just singlehandedly find the Athena Parthenos, and battle the mother of your greatest fear. Nobody can be expected to remember everything, even an Owl Head like you. You don't have to be perfect- although just for the record to me you are the very definition of that word. I would do anything for you in a heartbeat; anything to make sure you stay safe, even though I know you can seriously kick butt on your own. Besides, here we are probably falling to our deaths, but I am the happiest man in the world to have you vulnerable in my arms."

"On that note, sorry. Falling into Tartarus? What do you think, Annie? Definitely not gonna be our best date. I should have made reservations in Paris again, huh? **(Demigod Diaries- PJ & the Staff of Hermes)**

She snorted at his last comment, and gradually calmed down. As the events of the last few hours- no… minutes? - began to fully process in her mind, she began to think.

She tried to remember everything she knew about Tartarus (not much), but she did recall the speculation of the old Greek poet Hesiod- that it would take nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus.

She hoped that it didn't truly take that long, and to ease her nerves she told herself that nobody has actually ever been to Tartarus and emerged alive, so some poet's speculation could have absolutely no true value. Then she realized what she had said. "Nobody has actually ever been to Tartarus and emerged alive." Wasn't she just a ray of sunshine? _Nico made it out. _She reminded herself. _And we will too. Together._

Still, her thoughts turned to the more disturbing things she _didn't_ know about Tartarus.

Was time the same down there? "Here," she thought to herself grimly. Would it be possible to be in Tartarus for a week but come out a day later in the outer world? What did it look like? Does it play with your mind, or leave you clearheaded while you witness gruesome things? Are monsters stronger there? How much? How will we know where the Doors of Death are?

She shuddered a she considered all that, so she tried to turn her mind to more pleasant thoughts. "Percy" came up first.

Annabeth returned to the land of the living with a start, and realized that the entire time, Percy had never let go of her and was still softly stroking her hair. He stopped when he felt her jerk, and with another start she noticed that she could faintly see the outline of his head.

Reaching forward, Percy kissed the very tip of her nose and, unable to stop herself, she tilted her head so that they could kiss for real- the first time since his disappearance- and then pulled Percy as close to her as possible, deepening the kiss.

After they had to separate for air, she hid her face against Percy's chest and leaned in so that they could just hold each other. They stayed like that for what seemed like days, but their calm and loving position was broken when Percy shifted uncomfortably for some reason and then abruptly looked up. Annabeth felt his arms tighten around her and felt as he tried to shift his position as discreetly as possible.

She was confused at first, but after looking around she tensed up as well.

This entire time she and Percy had been falling at terminal velocity. It hadn't seemed so fast while in complete darkness, but now Annabeth noted that they were rapidly approaching an extremely painful death- a terminal crash.

Also, now that she was thinking about it, she could feel her eyes watering and it seemed with each breath it was harder to get enough air into her lungs. Cold fingers of fear clawed at her heart when she realized her sick feeling was being caused simply by the atmosphere.

Tartarus was dark and the air sulfurous. Everything was either red or black, with shadows dominating every corner of the vast land. The floor looked like a torture chamber in itself- sharp rocks and glass surrounded by deep holes and scraggly cliffs, just waiting for you to fall off them and break your neck below. The only plants that could be seen were brown and dry, of the most poisonous types as well as dangerous looking new ones that Annabeth had never heard of before. From their rapidly diminishing vantage point, she looked around and saw absolutely no water, no source of food, and frankly no life at all. Rivers of lava flowed everywhere, and the temperature was intolerably hot. Even the air was something of horror. Toxins and chemicals mixed with the ash and total dryness made Annabeth cough harshly.

"This place truly is hell. It's literally killing us, just for being here!" Annabeth thought to herself sadly as she took another deep breath. Then she glanced at Percy, but quickly turned away.

"It's my fault he's here" she thought, but then immediately chastised herself and repeated the mantra Percy had told her "it's not my fault. We are together by choice, and together we _will_ make it to the Doors of Death in time."

Although after short consideration, she was slightly annoyed when she realized Percy must have noticed the poison in the air, but had not told her.

Going back to the 'about to become demigod pancakes' problem, Annabeth's eyes widened as she realized why Percy had shifted. He had positioned himself under her, and was now shielding her with his strong arms.

He had put her on top of him and was probably planning to take the brunt- if not the full extent- of their impact against the ground! She tried to wriggle out, but when Percy realized she had figured out his plan, he just held her tighter. "I love you, Wise Girl."

With that, the distance between them and the ground became nonexistent as Annabeth and Percy landed hard. Annabeth felt all the air be knocked out of her before she was thrown into unconsciousness.

**-3rd person, Percy-**

When Percy saw Annabeth being dragged towards the pit, without thinking he had immediately grabbed for her to try and save her. He had been surprised by the force of the pull, and instead of managing to stop her he had instead been dragged along with her.

Once she had been pulled over the edge, Percy made a split second decision and flipped over so that he would be on his belly and facing the wall when he was pulled over. He had also tightened his grip on Annabeth's hand.

Once he was yanked down, Percy had scrabbled at the sharp rocks until he magically managed to grab one about fifteen feet down. The jerk when they stopped was almost enough to make him black out, but thankfully he just horribly wrenched both shoulders.

Percy tried to hold on, but he knew his hand- bloody and scratched up- wouldn't last much longer.

Annabeth must have gone unconscious for a few seconds, because her hold on his hand had gone slack, and he was left having to grip her even more tightly with his sweaty fingers. He looked up and saw Nico leaning over the edge, screaming his name.

With his last bit of strength, Percy had told Nico to meet them at the other side, and then he looked down to Annabeth to tell her he would never leave her again. He let go.

Percy managed to stay conscious as they plummeted into pitch darkness. He heard the wind whistling around him and felt it tugging at his ripped clothes like a hungry hellhound, but all he was conscious of was Annabeth.

Seeing Nico's face when he heard what Percy was planning had been torture for him, but he knew that he would never, EVER, abandon Annabeth again- even though the first time hadn't even been his fault.

Percy stayed strong as Annabeth sobbed into his shirt. He comforted Annabeth for all he was worth. He watched as dim light slowly became noticeable, and he kissed Annabeth when she finally looked up.

It had been hard for him to hug Annabeth and tell her everything was alright, because he was also having some doubts. "What if we don't make it to the Doors in time? What if we die down here?" and the worst "What if I'm not able to protect Annabeth? What if she gets hurt?"

Percy struggled with these thoughts for a while, but when Annabeth leaned up to kiss him, all his worried disappeared. It only came back when, while hugging Annabeth, he noted that the air was tart and he was having trouble breathing. He glanced up a bit and noticed how quickly they were approaching the floor.

He tried to change position without Annabeth noticing, but of course she did and tried to wriggle out. That just strengthened his resolve, so when he hit the floor hard on his right side and felt a shooting pain all over, he just prayed to the gods (not that they could hear him down there, anyway) that he had saved his love.

**-Annabeth POV-**

I woke up to a dull throbbing in my ankle "please not again!" and a pounding headache. I spent a few seconds wallowing in self-pity ("I just got out of a huge quest, I saved my mother's statue, and _this_ is how the fates reward me! Throwing me into Tartarus! Sheesh Athena, I saved your stupid statue, the least you can do is save me and my boyfriend from the eternal pit of darkness!"), before I suddenly became aware of how alone I was. My hands shot out, grabbing at the space around me. No Percy.

I wanted to sob. The impact against the floor must have knocked us apart, and now I had no idea where Percy was, or if he was even ali- "no. I will NOT think like that." I whispered to myself fiercely. "He _is _alive, and now I just need to find him."

My resolve strengthened, I slowly forced my beat up body into a crawling position. I winced as the sharp stones and glass stabbed into my palms and sliced through my jeans, and I grunted in pain as my ankle twisted under me. "That ambrosia I used in the tunnels helped, but our landing must have jostled my foot.

Forcing myself to ignore the uncomfort, I brought my head up and took a look at my surroundings. My Bubble Wrap cast must have been ripped off in the impact, and my ankle was still slightly swollen and red. I was still covered in sticky, stringy spider web, although not as much as before. I didn't see my book bag anywhere, and even though I knew I would miss Daedalus' laptop, I figured it would be no use down here anyways.

The one thing that affected me the most was that I couldn't see my Celestial bronze dagger - the one I had owned since I was eleven. "Not only did I lose my dagger, now I have nothing to defend myself with!" Tears began to fill my eyes even though I tried my hardest to hold them in.

Wiping my eyes and looking down, I saw a dark lump in the corner of my eye, some way down the hill on which I sat. When I turned my head I was able to make out legs… arms… a head- "Percy!" I cried, and carefully crawled/tumbled down to him. If possible, he looked even worse than I did.

His right arm was bent and covered in blood, although I couldn't tell if it was broken, and his left shoulder was popped out of its socket- "probably from catching me," I thought. The fingers on his right hand were all skinned and bloody. Apparently we had also traded injuries, because now _his_ ankle was badly twisted while mine was practically healed. Finally, when I took his head into my lap, I noticed he had a deep gash on it that was rapidly filling his hair with blood.

"Oh, Seaweed Brain! Why did you have to be so noble! You weren't even supposed to come down here with me, much less get this hurt. Please be ok, and please wake up soon!" I hugged him and brought my fingers through the top of his black, tangled hair.

At that moment he appeared more wonderful to me than ever before. Like my very own demigod-style prince charming.

Sighing, I wrapped my arms around him and lay down next to him, mindful of his injuries. "I don't know how much rest we'll be able to get down here, so I might as well sleep now while you recover." I kissed him "get better Percy." and then fell into a fitful slumber.

**-3rd Person, Argo ll-**

The atmosphere on the _Argo ll_ was and solemn and the air felt so thick you could cut it with a gladius. Everyone was silent, and everyone was mentally punishing themselves for what they thought they should have done to save Percy and Annabeth.

Frank was miserable, telling himself he really was a worthless mess up, all because he hadn't thought fast enough to turn into an eagle and rescue them.

Jason felt like the worst leader ever, because he had seized up at the time his team members needed him most. He could have flown down into the pit and rescued them! It didn't matter what Nico said about the pull of Tartarus- If Percy was strong enough to hold onto a tiny ledge with one hand and Annabeth with the other, Jason could have found the strength to fly them both out and up to safety.

Leo was punching buttons, taking his anger and disappointment out on his beloved ship. Sure, he had always felt like the third wheel, but he still loved all his new friends like family, and it was torture to him that Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus. Leo had been so focused on securing the Athena Parthenos that he hadn't even noticed the grave danger his friends were in until it was too late. He could have thrown down one of the secure ropes and pulled them out!

He was also feeling especially miserable because he was absolutely certain this entire thing had been all his fault- for breaking Nemesis' fortune cookie. Surrounded by spare parts, he should have been able to figure something else out to save his buddies.

Hazel was angry with herself for freaking out. She didn't know if her earth powers would work on a place like Tartarus, but she could have at least tried. She felt worthless, opposite of the precious treasures she could control.

Piper was once again feeling helpless and the least powerful. Even if she had been in a position to help, what good is charmspeak and a magic dagger?

Annabeth was the fact girl, and the one who had helped their team the most with her great intelligence and strategic skills. Percy had given them all confidence in themselves and in each other, but now that he was gone tempers were rising and no one was there to keep the atmosphere light.

Coach Hedge tried to live the event down, by loudly exclaiming that Annabeth and Percy were "tough little cupcakes" and would make it out for sure. He made a big deal out of the amazing destruction of the parking lot, but finally even he couldn't take the loss anymore and retired to his room before he lost his 'tough guy' reputation in front of everyone.

Nico, even though he wasn't one of the seven, felt just as bad as all of them for not having been able to do anything. The difference was that he knew firsthand how powerful Tartarus was, and knew his powers would never have been strong enough to pull Percy and Annabeth out.

Nico had lost all hope and been on the brink of losing his mind after only being in Tartarus for a short time, but here Percy and Annabeth were traveling all the way to the Doors of Death. Still, he felt confident that they could make it through, because Percy was the strongest demigod he knew and plus they had each other- no matter how unfair it seemed that he had done it alone.

Surprisingly, Nico and Hazel had been the ones who took charge and handled the situation the best. Nico had ordered them on course to the House of Hades, and even comforted them-in his own strange way- by telling everyone it wasn't their fault and explaining that if he had made it in Tartarus alone, Percy and Annabeth could definitely make it out together, too. And even though Hazel was the youngest, her experience and thoughtfulness helped calm thing down a lot.

Whenever he and Hazel had break times that intersected, they would get together and just talk. Even though Nico had tried to stay strong as the older brother, Hazel's kindness had easily broken him down the first day- when Nico had still been vulnerable and weak from Tartarus- and so he often found himself telling her his fears and secrets. The most painful thing for Nico to talk about was his experience in Tartarus.

Even though Nico had slowly begun acting his age and being more vulnerable around his little sister, that still didn't mean he was going to start sprouting his secrets at their every-other-day meetings in the Lounge, and Hazel didn't push him (too much…).

Jason had automatically assumed position as head of the group, and nobody challenged him because they all realized the burden their leader would have to carry. Indeed, Jason was beginning to get worn out from all the stress, although he did his best to commandeer them and keep them together like Percy would have done.

It would be a hard journey for both groups, but surely they would both cross the finish line in time to reach the doors- and arrive ready to prevent Gaea's evil master plan.

**Ok, you guys. First chapter finished! Nice filling ending, but if cliffhangers are what it takes to get you more excited, there's no need to worry! This is my first fanfic, and so I'm figuring out how this works right now. Constructive criticism is appreciated, flames are not. Any review (short ****or long) would be awesome!**

**Later, folks! Dragonwriter, out!**** :D**


	2. Owls, Beefboy, and Redemption

**Wazzup peeps! Not gonna bore you with my drabble, so… Without further ado I am now proud to present chapter two!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing (I'm so disappointed in myself...)**

**Chapter 2- Owl Dreams, The Return of Beef-Boy, and Nico's Dreamy Redemption**

**-Annabeth POV-**

Nightmare- 'nuff said. The moment my eyes closed, I was forcefully pulled into a dream, vision, sight beyond sight, whatever. And what I saw chilled me to the bone.

I thought the Titan War last summer was bad, but it was nothing compared to what I beheld at that moment. Demigods- Greek and Roman- slaughtering each other in vicious battle. I saw my camp friends- Chiron, Travis and Connor, Will, Clarisse, even Thalia and the other Hunters- barely alive and fighting for their lives.

I pounded my fists against a dreamlike force-field that was preventing me from leaving the top of the hill to help. I felt bile rise in my throat when I noticed the great river of blood that had been formed, and I had to look away, helpless.

_This is what you are fighting for, my dear. Wouldn't it just be better to give up? _Gaea's voice infiltrated my head, seducing my thoughts and making my limbs heavy. _A battle is inevitable, and if you and Percy Jackson continue to struggle, the horrible torture you will receive will have been for nothing._

I tried to stay strong, to sneer at her and respond with a witty comeback, but not only was she speaking directly into my mind, all my strength seemed to have disappeared. My brain, always strategizing and planning things, turned against me as it calculated how likely our chances really were of survival- not to mention success. My legs shook and I almost sunk ungracefully to the floor, but then I remembered everything I was fighting for and how much we had already done. My body seemed to fill with fire as I felt the searing heat of untamable anger race through my veins, reviving me.

"You may have the upper hand for now, Gaea, but we Demigods are stronger than you give us credit for. The other five of the prophecy are smart and resourceful, and I believe in their ability to kick your earthy butt. Me and Percy may be deep in Tartarus, but keep this thought in mind: you think you are all great and powerful since you are the earth, but Percy is the son of the freaking Earthshaker! Powerless is not a word to describe us.

We _can _make peace, we _can _return the Athena Parthenos, we _can _close the Doors of Death, and we _will _stay alive."

_As you wish, foolish Demigod. I will enjoy watching you all go down hard. _She removed herself from my mind, and without her in my head I realized with a jolt that the once full swing battle below me had completely ended… And there was no winner.

All my friends, as well as the entire Camp Jupiter, lay dead on the ground- clearly Gaea's stand to showing me how hopeless success was. I choked back a sob.

"If this is a dream, why haven't I woken up yet?" "Because we haven't finished here," responded a voice from behind me. I whirled, and beheld my mother for the first time since she had given me her Mark.

She was back to normal- for the most part. An owl was still perched on her shoulder _I will STRANGLE that owl! Making me fall down dark holes and climb over spiders…_ and she was wearing Greek attire. Still, I could see how hard it was for her to stay like that. She seemed to have aged thirty years, and I could tell from her stormy grey eyes that she was struggling to keep her composure.

"I don't often say this, but thank you, Annabeth. Without you my statue would never have been freed from Arachne's chilling clutches. She did present quite a challenge. _You're telling me. _

With a start, I realized I hadn't even thought of bowing when Athena appeared to me. I remembered now, but I think I gained enough power from that quest to not need to.

"Will returning the Athena Parthenos help heal the tension between our two camps?" I asked. "Maybe. That idiot descendant of Apollo has whipped the Romans into quite a frenzy." She shook her head. "You'd better hope your Camp has enough spunk, or else it will fall just as the Greeks did to Romans long ago."

Athena groaned and clutched her head. Her robes shimmered from one form to the other, and I could tell it was bad because I could almost hear her two sides arguing from where I was standing. I felt her aura waver, and even I was starting to be affected seeing my mother that way.

But suddenly I felt an enormous blast of power coming from her, and she stabilized into her Greek form. She breathed deeply and sighed in relief. "Yes, good! Even from here, I can sense the power of the Athena Parthenos. Thank you, my daughter."

"I am sorry- I must go. This will be the last time I can contact you in Tartarus. Good luck, and may your wisdom never falter!"

I closed my eyes as Athena changed to her true form to leave, but when I opened them again it was to the gloomy darkness of Tartarus. I quickly sat up when I saw what I was hugging. _Wow. You go to sleep snuggling with your boyfriend, and you wake up kissing rocks._

Boyfriend. Percy. Where was he?

"Hey there, sleepyhead. Was that rock comfortable?" I could almost hear the grin in Percy's voice as I turned to look at him. He was still slightly pale, and seemed a little shaky, but his sea green eyes sparkled with the same happiness and fun that I had come to find endearing.

He was sitting close, right behind me, and I completely forgot myself as I launched myself on top of him and hugged him tightly. Wrong move.

Percy immediately stiffened and jerked back, wrenching himself out of my embrace. I heard the yelp of pain that he quickly smothered by grounding his teeth. He breathed heavily, raggedly- as if he was doing his best to hold in a scream.

Immediately his reaction and the way he gripped his arm clicked, and I gasped, horrified, and scrambled back. "Gods, Percy! I am so stupid! Your injuries... Gods! Are you ok? Idiot, Annabeth! Percy, are you...?" I stuttered, but calmed a tiny bit when my reaction made him grin slightly.

Now that I was sitting back, I took some time to take him and his position in. His fingers were still pretty jacked up, but his arms seemed fine even though the right one was bloody. He was leaning against a big rock, wincing whenever a movement irritated the cuts on his back (from landing on the glass), and his head rested gently back on the stone. Lastly, his foot was lying away from his body, still broken but much less swollen than I remembered.

"Percy, I am so sorry! I saw your arm after the fall, and I _stupid_ didn't remember! Are, are you- GODS, PERCY, sorry."

Percy took a deep breath and then to my surprise he began laughing. "Annabeth, it's ok. I'm sorry for reacting that way, you surprised me is all. I actually woke up a while back." He smiled sheepishly "I also managed to push my shoulder back into its socket- I was surprised when you didn't wake up at that."

Grin widening, he continued. "I was feeling sort of restless, and so I took Riptide out of my pocket, and guess what? I found a bag of ambrosia too! So… I ate one just a few minutes before you woke up, and now here we are having this conversation!"

If I hadn't been stunned by his response to my forgiveness (laughing), this would have done it for sure. My boyfriend, who had fallen into Tartarus with me, who had taken the brunt of the impact on landing, who never seemed to be able to remember anything of importance, who always appeared to be unprepared, had apparently stuffed an entire bag of ambrosia in his pocket _without even noticing it_, and it had somehow managed to stay intact when we landed! Thank the fates for that good luck- because it definitely wasn't by Percy's own doing! **Percy: Yea- wait, Hey!**

"Seaweed Brain!" I breathed, and slowly, carefully, hesitantly, leaned in for a kiss. He returned it wholeheartedly, and even stroked my hair with his good hand.

I just smiled, then sat back to share my dream with him.

He frowned, and I could tell he was thinking of how we would survive down here as well as about my dream. He suddenly surprised me when he stood, and pulled Riptide from his tattered pants pocket. "Don't let her discourage you. Not to seem uncaring, but I have a bad feeling the only way we can stay alive down here is if we keep moving."

He offered me his hand, clearly feeling much better (or… acting?) and I took it. Still suspicious, I leaned heavily on him as a test, and I was rewarded by a pained grimace.

"Perseus Jackson," I lectured him sternly. "Your ankle is BROKEN. You can't just go gallivanting around the rough terrain of Tartarus in your condition!"

He sighed and tried to wince unnoticeably, but of course I noticed. "Percy…" I pushed warningly. Then he did something I would never have guessed coming from him: he turned his puppy-dog eyes on me (not this, the next thing) and began to intelligently reason with me.

"Annabeth," he began, "Yes, we are in Tartarus. Therefore, we have all the more reason to not stay in one place for too long as if waiting for some beastie to pick up on our scent- especially that of a certain strong-smelling son of Poseidon. Furthermore, I am certain that at least five monsters noticed the great amount of rubble and spare cars that fell from the air at this spot, and I know it doesn't take a sharp mind to realize there might be something of value (in their case yummy humans) that fell as well. On top of that, in case you had forgotten, we have a deadline to meet at the Doors of Death at the same time as everyone else, and we don't know how far away they are from here so it would be best to start walking. And lastly even though it may not prove anything to you, my gut is telling me that we have to move. Also you seem to have forgotten that I _did_ eat an entire square of ambrosia not too long ago, and so my ankle will heal but it just hasn't mended yet."

I just stood there next to him gaping like a fish, which is when he turned his puppy-eyes to full power. "So do you think we could at least start moving slowly? I know you can help me walk." "Well…" "Pleeease?" That's more like it- now Percy is whining. "Okay."

"C'mon, rock hugger. To Tartarus and beyond!"

It felt like we had been walking for days, but of course I couldn't be sure. Who knows- especially with my ADHD- and I don't even know if time works the same in this place.

For a little while after we started off, I could tell Percy was having trouble. He kept wincing and was limping badly and leaning on me heavily. But after a while, he was able to put at least some weight on his foot, and a little later he was trudging along on his own with only a slight limp.

We passed caves, dark pits, sudden cliffs, and for a while we even followed a blistering river of lava. Could be worse… at least no monsters yet.

Suddenly I tripped. It had seemed like the ground was shaking, but I put it off as sudden fatigue and dizziness. I wish.

Percy stiffened besides me and turned around, Riptide glowing in front at him and pointed at the darkness behind us. He squinted, but when the ground rumbled again his eyes opened wide and they filled with panic. "Duck!" he screamed at me, and as I fell to the ground and rolled behind a rock, I saw what we were facing.

The Minotaur was back, and I bet it was really grumpy for being killed twice by the same person. Percy barely ducked out of its way when it ran at us. He pawed the ground- stamping his hooves and hitting his chest, causing the earth to rumble again. I almost laughed at the show of power, but the seriousness of the situation helped me hold it back.

The Minotaur was so confident because we were in _his_ home court, and he wanted nothing more than to ground my boyfriend to dust. I cowered behind a rock, weaponless and as far away as possible from those mad red eyes that glowed with hatred.

Percy just stood up taller and stuck out his chest, acting confident even though I could see Riptide shaking in his hands. "I killed you before, beefy! Now I get the chance to beat my record- killing the same monster three times. Bring It!" The Minotaur snorted, and faster than I had expected, it burst towards Percy, charging at its top speed.

_Oh, Hades. _I cursed. Then- _Help!_

**-3rd Person, Percy-**

Percy barely managed to lunge out of the way of the charging Minotaur. He was scared, but had at least managed to stay standing and call out a taunt. He knew he should be confident, seeing as he had already dominated the Minotaur two times, but this was the first time he had ever fought in Tartarus. Also, he wasn't exactly feeling at the top of his game.

Even after the ambrosia, his right arm ached and Percy was forced to support Riptide with his left hand. At least his foot was feeling ok- but rolling on the floor wasn't helping.

Percy had been surprised by the ferocity and speed the Minotaur had shown with his first attack, and almost got skewered for not paying attention when the Minotaur charged him from behind. As it was, he got thrown off his feet and hit the ground- hard.

Black spots appeared at the edges of his vision, but he was determined to kill the Minotaur- even though he wasn't showing it, he was extremely angry for being stuck in Tartarus, and needed to fight something to feel better. Breathing deeply and narrowing his eyes, Percy let out a wild battle cry and charged the Minotaur head on. "You want me, Cow-man? Eat Riptide!" It was clearly not expecting that, so Percy had the upper hand- giving him enough time to deal the Minotaur a painful blow to the leg and dart away.

Annabeth had been sitting behind her rock paralyzed, but now she saw a perfect opportunity. While Percy distracted the Minotaur- barely staying away from its sharp horns- Annabeth grabbed the sharpest rock she could find and took a running start to leap onto the Minotaur's back.

Have you ever been to a rodeo, or ridden one of those bucking-bronco robots at a fair? Imagine that, but with a dirty pointed stone in your hand, sharp horns in front of your face, about 10 feet off the ground, fifty times more jolting, and having to hope your boyfriend (or girlfriend-whatever) had the intelligence to leap out of the way before getting squashed.

Thankfully, Percy was one of the intelligent ones, and watched in awe as his kick-butt girlfriend totally whopped the Minotaur in its own environment.

He watched her stab the Minotaur's eyes and grab one of the Minotaur's horns. Then, as he had done so long ago, she broke it off with a loud 'crack!' Grinning like a madman, Percy charged back into battle, and delivered the final blow through the Minotaur's side.

Immediately Percy felt a flash of panic, seeing that Annabeth was still 10 feet up but now riding a pile of gold dust. He lunged forward, and caught her bridal style before kissing her cheek and setting her gently on the ground.

Putting on an indignant face, he chastised her "Are you quite done dillydallying? We have to reach the Doors of Death!"

He took her hand and turned the direction they had been walking. He didn't have a lot to go on, but when he turned at a certain angle the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he felt uneasy. _Must be that way. _

They stumbled over the rocky terrain for a bit longer, but suddenly Annabeth pulled away and cautiously approached a pile of some sticky substance that was half concealed under a rock. Why she was so interested in it, Percy had no idea.

"Percy? I don't think we can relax just yet." With a suddenly queasy feeling in his gut, Percy also walked over to study the substance- and unintentionally turned his back on eight glowing spheres.

"DIE!"

**-Nico POV-**

It's been almost an entire week since we set sail for the House of Hades- six days since we lost Percy and Annabeth to Tartarus. I've been working almost nonstop, helping with the navigation, fighting monsters, and I am TIRED. Surprisingly, on this trip I have even found myself encouraging the other crew members and keeping them positive. Suffice to say, I know that I changed drastically from my time in that Death Trance.

I still feel like an outcast- son of the death god, and all- but something inside me is more expectant. I've been practicing to hone my powers in the few hours I've had to myself, and instead of making me feel colder or darker, it fills me with strength and warmth. Not only that, my view of others has changed.

I'm still a bit hesitant to say this, but I have had a small crush on Percy ever since he rescued me and Bianca on that hill. That's right- I'm gay.

Even when he brought me the news of Bianca's death, I couldn't hurt him. What really happened was that I developed a grudge- Percy was the perfect fighter, the great hero, and he also had Annabeth. Apparently, my fatal flaw is my inability to let go of grudges. Who would've thought?

Even after Bianca convinced me to forgive him, I'll admit I never truly released it- I just kept it locked up.

After being rescued from that jar and recovering my strength, I realized that my grudge had somehow disappeared, but also that I didn't really like Percy anymore. I began to feel more at ease with everyone on the _Argo_ _ll_, and truthfully I love feeling like we're all a family.

While I was in Tartarus, I happened to meet a certain god of misery named Akhlys, who was "impressed at how much sorrow and pain I carried, claiming that there was little more that she could do to me". At that moment, when I looked at her and she appeared as if she were a victim of a Nazi death camp, I decided that I never wanted to be like her; but I also realized that it might be too late. Akhlys was right, I was carrying around way too much pain and misery, and it wasn't doing me any favors.

Now, I've embraced my heritage/parentage, and it has done nothing but help me and make me stronger.

Don't forget what I said before about being practically dead on my feet (pun intended) from exhaustion. Still… there is one more thing I need to try.

"Hey, guys? I'm beat. Jason, can you deal with the navigation for a little while whilst I get some sleep?" "No prob, man. You look horrible." I grimaced. _Well, at least everyone isn't so uneasy around me anymore._

Stumbling down to the room Leo had assigned me, I stopped quickly at Frank's door to wake him up and tell him we were switching spots. He shook himself and then trotted up the stairs- Yes, trotted. I wonder why he always seems to wake up as a bulldog.

Walking into my room, I shut the door carefully behind me and looked around. Unlike everyone else's rooms, mine was absolutely bare except for my bed, a desk, and my notebook. (I don't keep a diary; it's just something I use to organize my thoughts…)

I shook my head. _Come on, Nico. You gotta stay awake and on focus if you want to do this. Remember- it's for Percy and Annabeth. _Taking a deep breath, I sat in the middle of my bed, placed my Stygian Iron sword in front of me, and slipped into a meditating/sleeping ignorance.

This is something I've been contemplating for a while. I realized that Hades must have at least a bit of power over sleep and dreams because dreams come from a world of darkness. Being a son of the god of darkness himself, I hope I can at least navigate myself through Hypnos's realm well enough to do what I have planned.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes there (remember that my body is still meditating) were my regrets and worst memories- Bianca laughing, my mom smiling at me, Percy fighting off the minotaur, Percy telling me of my sister's death, all the hardships I faced in the Titan War, and many more- some that I hadn't even remembered until now... this clearly wasn't just going to be a "hit and run" type of mission.

Before, I might have been overwhelmed or tried to push all those memories back, but for the sake of the world and my friends I didn't. I knew that trying to see Percy and Annabeth was going to be hard, but I was ready. Instead of running, I embraced my old life- I accepted that it had all happened and told myself it was time to start anew…

Black… then

Light…

Happy… and…

…Free. That's how I felt.

No more hatred burning inside of me, and I felt all my old grudges dissipating. _I have changed, and I will begin to use this by helping my new family._

Closing my eyes and focusing, I was able to get an extremely faint reading of Percy's mind. I chose him because not only did I understand him a little bit better than Annabeth, but I knew they would both definitely still be together.

I tightened my hands into fists and took a few more deep breaths. It was my first time attempting this, and no doubt trying to contact someone in an eternal abyss was making it harder. Letting out my last breath slowly, I imagined being in Tartarus- creating a mental image of what I remembered from my time in there and picturing myself floating over Percy and Annabeth.

This was the hardest thing I had ever attempted, but I knew there was no way I could let myself fail. When I felt like it was ok, I pried my eyes open and was shocked to see the final play in their fight against the Minotaur. _Man, Percy just can't get a break from that thing._ I saw Percy stab the Minotaur's gut, and then watched him catch Annabeth. I followed them for a long time as they struggled over the bumpy terrain, but suddenly my attention was captured by a movement in the corner of my eye. I was so busy trying to make out a shape that I didn't notice Annabeth lead Percy over to a rock.

With a gasp, I turned around to find them kneeling around a stone and my eyes widened when I heard pebbles fall behind me followed by a loud screech:

"DIE!"

"NOOOOO!" I jolted out of my meditation and practically tumbled onto the floor. Standing up on wobbly legs, I braced myself against my bed as I heard my door slam open behind me and four pairs of feet storm into my room. "Nico, what's wrong! What happened?" Jason asked me worriedly, and I could hear from his voice that he was a bit scared.

"It-The… Tartarus… Found them- They… DIE! And I couldn't…tell…" I was so distressed I couldn't even make an intelligent sentence. Hazel walked up to me and helped me sit down. "Nico, what happened? What did you dream of?" she asked me kindly and also quite worriedly.

"Not a dream. I was meditating and I…" I continued to tell them the whole story: how I had been thinking of doing this for a while, and then the rest of my dreams- all the way to the dreadful "DIE".

Everyone was silent. "That's not good" whispered Frank, and everyone nodded mutely.

Suddenly, scaring me enough to make me jump three feet up, Leo burst into my room and took us all in. "Sorry to break this up, guys. We have a situation, and I'm not happy to say it might even be worse than your conversation." For once, we could see that Leo was dead serious.

I was too exhausted to follow, but they all pounded up the stairs just as the _Argo_'s alarm bell sounded. This is just not our day!

**Well? What did you think of the most recent addition to my story? Review, or you can always PM me and I will answer back as quickly as possible. **

**Questions? Helpful criticism? Have a comment? Think the story is good? **_**REVIEW!**_

**Have a good day! Dragonwriter, out!**


	3. The Itsy-Bitsy Spider

**I'm back! Now that I'm making Nico so awesome, I'll have to keep you updated on both teams… On to telling you what happened after we stopped at that cliffhanger (or not)!**

**Disclaimer: (from now on just look to this and previous chapters) Uncle Rick owns all!**

**Chapter 3: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider**

**-Percy POV-**

Only when I heard a yell did I realize what Annabeth and I were looking at, and as I whipped around to face the leaping monstrosity, my heart sunk even lower at realizing I wasn't holding Riptide.

I had dropped it when I caught Annabeth. Not that it mattered anyways, because all I had time for was to bring my hands up to my face and close my eyes… then I was grabbed and smashed to the floor.

Immediately I tried to scream, to yell, to cry out- but I couldn't because the collision with the floor had knocked all the air out of me. In fact, I didn't even notice being shoved down. All I knew at that moment was a horrible, burning pain in my forearm.

I felt myself drift in and out of consciousness, but for some reason my body didn't let me completely black out. The pain wasn't the worst I had ever felt in my life, but there must be something about spider venom that causes it.

Not to mention being a HUMAN that was bitten by a MONSTER in TARTARUS.

Through my haze, I was barely able to feel a great weight leave me and then I felt my limp body being thrown to the side like a piece of trash. I landed on my side, and violently cracked my head against a flat rock.

I expected to be knocked out for sure, but surprisingly- instead of making me dizzier- the collision cleared my mind and brought me back to the situation at hand. Faintly, I heard a voice scream my name… Annabeth?

Steeling myself, I painfully raised my head and, blinking away a wave of dizziness, I saw Annabeth wielding her dagger- and shaking like a leaf.

Her competition? Arachne.

_We blew up the entire parking lot on the roof of the Emmanuel Building, courtesy of Coach Hedge. I watched cars explode as Leo maneuvered the Argo ll to move in close. We had to hover as the dust and rubble crashed down, and I strained to see Annabeth. _

_What I saw instead was a giant, seemingly glowing statue of Athena that was somehow deflecting all rubble. I also saw a huge gaping hole in the middle of the room that didn't seem to be filling up, and at the edge, a strange web structure. As the dust settled a bit, I was able to make out a swarm of spiders surrounding a lone figure. "Annabeth!" No answer. _

_Suddenly, I noticed a bright red Fiat 500 rapidly falling towards her, and I gasped as she threw herself out of the way at the last moment. The car hit her 'Spidercuffs' and propelled them into the pit. _

"_Annabeth!" I screamed again, and this time she responded, sobbing._

I had totally forgotten about Arachne, which is sort of sad seeing as she's the reason we're in this pit and also because she's my girlfriend's greatest fear.

It was dumb to imagine Arachne would stay trapped in her own webbing for this long.

Speaking of web… that was the sticky substance Annabeth had been examining under the rock. I think she had actually recognized it, but hadn't wanted to tell me just in case she was somehow mistaken.

Now, seeing my girlfriend facing her greatest adversary (again) and on the brink of panic, I developed a surge of inhuman strength and resistance and lurched to my feet. Shoving my hand into my pocket, I grabbed Riptide and uncapped it.

While I stalked forwards, 3 feet of shining Celestial Bronze formed and elongated in my hands with no more than a soft "shhhk". Adrenaline pumped through my veins as Riptide's handle formed and rested comfortably in my hand, and I looked up slowly as to not attract attention.

At the moment, Annabeth seemed to have her hands full. She was slashing, dodging, and overall doing her best to distract Arachne from my 'body'- she clearly hadn't seen me get up.

Of course, we all know that _now _she was distracting Arachne from my super strong, surprisingly sneaky, savage sword stealth strike. It may be hard to stalk across rocky outcroppings and unseen ditches without making a noise, but somehow I managed (or more than likely they were making too much noise to hear my various trips and curses…).

Suffice to say- when I reached Arachne, I had the perfect opportunity to jump onto her and sink Riptide through her back.

I seized that opportunity_ (*snicker* you should have seen Annabeth's face... Oh... hi Annabet-Owch!)._

Arachne's howl of pain nearly shattered my eardrums, and it left me so stunned I was almost thrown off on her first attempt to shake me. Thankfully, the sword that was jutting out of her back helped me regain my leverage- and most likely ended up hurting her even more.

On a moment of relative calmness from Arachne's bucking, I braced myself and yanked Riptide out.

Arachne reared and viciously reached around with her multiple legs to try and stab me, but I was faster. With a deft slash, I chopped her head clean off, and she _finally_ began to dissolved.

Sitting atop her rapidly disintegrating form, I half leapt, half fell to the side and tried to land in a roll. Key word- _Tried_.

It seems that little show had taken the rest of the little energy I had left in me. As adrenaline from the battle began fading, new exhaustion and pain washed over me as I slid down. It's not very easy to jump gracefully from a half-giant-spider-half-golden-dust thing, and my foot ended up getting tangled in her legs as I tilted. I barely registered my impact with the floor, and I slipped into unconsciousness with a faint, pained groan.

**-Annabeth POV-**

When I saw Percy jump on Arachne and start riding her, I swear I almost had a heart attack.

Just a few moments before I had seen him get squashed and horribly bitten. To my utter dismay- but also slight relief- Arachne shoved Percy away and came after me. I barely had time to crouch down to grab something big and pointy before I found myself attacking my mother's nemesis.

Immediately I started having trouble, and switched to the defensive. Arachne was surprisingly quick and executed her attacks with frightening accuracy. Also, she was distracting me with a long speech (gloating). Unbeknownst to her, she was giving me valuable information while doing so.

"Poor little Demigods, fallen into the eternal pit of darkness and can't get out. This will teach you to never turn your back on monsters, scum! I've been tracking you, oh yes, and when that little Poseidon spawn slew the Minotaur, it helped me pinpoint your exact location. Isn't that wonderful! Every creature you overpower, more will come rushing to the kill sight for fresh meat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Percy land on the floor hard, somewhere to my right, and I winced mentally at how much that must have hurt. Doing my best to maneuver backwards along the rough terrain, I steered Arachne away from my boyfriend and tried to think up a plan.

All I could think about, though, was what Arachne had said. Whenever me or Percy killed a monster in self-defense, we would have to flee the sight quickly because other monsters would be able to sense the death. So it would be best to avoid killing for a while. We don't want too many monsters to be alerted of our presence… and to sum that up: still no battle plan.

Right at the moment I was about to give up and pray Arachne left Percy alone, the miracle happened.

Percy was amazing, and when he chopped off Arachne's head I sobbed with relief. I moved forward when he slid off her back, but then it all went terribly wrong.

I watched as Percy attempted to slide gracefully to the floor. My heart caught when I saw that his foot caught on one of Arachne's legs, and he got flipped over.

He landed sort of sideways, but then crumpled to the floor with a sickening 'crack'. I rushed over to help, and when I got there my eyes filled with tears of sadness but also awe. There was a nasty bite mark on his arm that must have been causing him a lot of pain.

I did my best to gently get him comfy, but even unconscious he groaned in pain. He wasn't in very good shape.

His right arm was swollen and covered in blood from a jagged cut on his forearm. That was clearly where Arachne bit him, because it was still bleeding profusely, oozing a strange white substance, and turning a sickly shade of green around the edges.

Also, his left ankle was bent at an unnatural angle from how he had landed.

Again.

Feeling his forehead, I frowned worriedly. He already had a high fever.

I smoothed his hair back, and then suddenly remembered the ambrosia. I quickly felt his pockets, but when I couldn't find anything I began to feel desperate.

_No! Why does it always have to be us!_

The bag must have fallen out of his pocket when Arachne or the Minotaur attacked, because...

We didn't have any more ambrosia.

I walked around desperately trying to find something, anything, but it was no use. I tried my own pockets, but it was all in vain.

Percy moaned again, reminding me I had left him unattended. Walking back and crouching near his side, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it in hopes of giving him some sort of comfort. He coughed once, winced, and then rolled over onto his side. After a while of simply sitting around, I allowed myself a soft chuckle when I saw he had started drooling.

Now that Percy was asleep, I allowed my mind to wander a little. I was worried about what Arachne had told me, about monsters sensing when and where one of their own was killed, but I knew there was no way it would be possible for me and Percy to relocate without bringing even _more_ attention to ourselves- not to mention he was in absolutely no condition to walk.

_Heal up a bit, ok seaweed brain? I'll take this watch._

**-Leo POV-**

Ever since we left Arachne's "hiding spot" in Rome, I've been up on deck working nonstop. Our loss hit me hard, and I am now more driven, more serious, and haven't even cracked a joke in the past two hours (that may not seem like much, but usually everything I say or do is for fun).

Surprisingly, I have had a lot of help from a certain black haired son of Hades. Even though he has still been weaker than normal, together (and with Festus' help, of course) we were able to find the exact coordinates for the House of Hades- and the earthly entrance to the Doors of Death. The other entrance, as we now know, is in none other than Tartarus…

""_I was a fool. I thought I could go anywhere in the underworld but I walked right into Gaea's trap. I might as well have tried running from a black hole."_(Nico)

"_Nico told me that the Doors of Death have two sides- one in the mortal world, one in the Underworld. The _mortal_ side of the portal is in Greece, It's heavily guarded by Gaea's forces. That's where they brought Nico back into the upper world. Then they transported him to Rome." _(Hazel).

_Piper must've been nervous, because her cornucopia spit out a cheeseburger. "Where exactly in Greece is this doorway?"_

_Nico took a rattling breath. "The House of Hades. It's an underground temple in Epirus. I can mark it on a map, but- but the mortal side of the portal isn't the problem. In the Underworld, the Doors of Death are in… in…"_

_A cold pair of hands did the itsy-bitsy spider down Percy's back. _

A black hole._ An inescapable part of the Underworld where even Nico di Angelo couldn't go. Why hadn't Percy thought of this before? He'd been to the very edge of that place. He still had nightmares about it._

"_Tartarus," he guessed. "The deepest part of the Underworld."_

_Nico nodded. "They pulled me into the pit, Percy. The things I saw down there…" His voice broke._

_Hazel pursed her lips. "No mortal has ever been to Tartarus," she explained. "At least, no one has ever gone in and returned alive. It's the maximum-security prison of Hades, where the old Titans and the other enemies of the gods ate bound. It's where all monsters go when they die in the earth. It's… well, no one knows exactly what it's like."_

_Her eyes drifted to her brother. The rest of her thought didn't need to be spoken: No one except Nico._**" ("The Mark of Athena", pg. 537-538)**

We mapped out our route and have been traveling without a hitch- that is, only if you leave out the multitude of monster attacks there have been from the air, sea, and land… We've all needed to be on constant alert, because it seems that for some odd reason monsters don't need rest like us humans.

When Nico first offered to help me at the helm, I must admit I was slightly worried. Naturally not including Annabeth, Nico must be the one Demigod whom I find the most frightening. Not only is he the half-brother of Hazel, but his powers over the dead are unnerving to say the least.

In fact, the one time he was on a short break and I had went below deck to, er, do my business, I caught him standing in his currently freezing room with the door slightly open and all the lights off. He was sword fighting a skeleton, on MY ship mind you, with his freaking eyes closed, and winning!

I know what you're thinking: he just got out of Tartarus and he's already jumping around and fighting stuff? Actually he recovered remarkably well after taking a full day to just lounge, drink a special special unicorn draught **(pg. 52 BOO)** we made for him, and sleep (mainly sleep).

Still, I have noticed that the guy seems to be loosening up at least slightly around us.

In fact, just now when he retired to his quarters, I heard Jason telling him he looked horrible from lack of sleep, and all he did was grimace in an amused sort of way.

That kid is more confusing to me than a thousand piece puzzle!

Back to the present, I am completely covered in grease and my clothes are in tatters. I am practically slapping myself just to keep my eyes open, and the rhythmic humming of machinery isn't helping.

By now my hands have fallen into a pattern: check the map, turn the wheel, adjust the sales, consult Festus for any new activity, check on the rest of the crew, tinker with the controls, view the radar, and so on in a never ending cycle.

Just as I moved across the deck to once again check our progress with Festus, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Immediately I leapt out of the way, and turning around again I saw Frank taking a step back and staring at me curiously, albeit rather frightened.

"Umm. S-sorry about that. Yo-your nose...?" I patted my face. _Jeez, i'm on fire!_ I quickly put out the fire I had unintentionally started on my face, and then I grinned sheepishly at Frank. "Sorry dude".

"S'alright. Um, actually I was just woken up to help you..." He shrugged his shoulders and tried to act nonchalant. "That's great! I'm exhausted!" I said, forthright. "Well...how can I help?" He asked after a minute, seeing as I had not yet moved away from the controls. "Yeah, do me a favor. I can't really stop moving my hands, so could you grab me and help me to the stairs? Thanks, you're a pal."

Frank nodded and then awkwardly grabbed my arms. When he walked me to the stairs, I practically collapsed on the handrail when the _Argo_ lurched to the side.

"Woah! Ok, who's driving this thing! Frank, get to the wheel and stop playing around!" I ordered. He just sighed and then righted us.

_What's his deal? It's not like I ordered him to grab- Oh riiight. Never mind, then. Bleh. Wake up, Leo!_

Tempers have been high for the last few days, but I think that Frank has sort of resigned. That's why he didn't even try to explain my mistake, and just kindly went back to work. Nice guy.

Now that I was free from steering and the ship had stabilized, I was able to take my time and fine tune everything on this here vessel. Sure, I got others who are always willing to help me and that's fun, but if you want something done perfectly you gotta do it yourself.

Walking around with the cold wind blowing my hair from my face helped to revive me. Now that I wasn't really needed, but was no longer as tired, I decided to head over to Hazel who was leaning on the Argo's starboard railing.

"Hey." "Hey," she glanced back at me then returned to her silent vigil. We just stood there for a while, and right when I felt awkward enough to try and start up a conversation, she gave a huge yawn and glanced at me apologetically. "I think I'm going to head down now. Who has the next shift?" I closed one eye in thought, and then responded "Piper, I think. But while you're down there do you think you could wake up Jason for me as well? I'll head down a little later, I just want to check on one more thing with Frank. And Hedge said not to bother him, I think he said he was trying to get away from us and would be watching really loud Chuck Norris movies on the lowest deck in one of those rooms." "Ok thanks. See you."

She pushed away from the rail and made her way to the stairs. I stared at her leaving form and then climbed up the steps again to Frank.

"Hey, will you be ok up here if I retire?" "Yeah go ahead." "Thanks"

Just as I turned to leave, I remembered something.

"Oh, can I just do something with the Archimedes sphere? It won't take long, and I've been meaning to do it for a while but I always either forget or we're in the middle of fighting for our lives." "Sure," he answered shortly, and stood back.

I just picked up the sphere and started tinkering, but not without a backward glance.

He was clearly still slightly nervous around me- although right now it could just be because I might accidentally blow something up if I twist the wrong combination on the sphere… aaand back to focus.

Now, I'm going out on a limb here and saying that I think I am just totally awesome, but the truth is it was probably Hephaestus instinct around machines that didn't allow me to jerk my hand when a loud scream burst up from below decks. "Noooooooooooo!"

Frank and I stared at each other, but I just grunted, annoyed. "Go. I can't leave while I'm in the middle of doing this." He immediately jumped up, and I was left alone above decks.

_Darn this intricate and fascinating metal ball, keeping me away from all the fun! It's gonna get me killed someday, just you wait!_

**-Jason POV-**

I had just been woken up by Hazel from an extremely confusing dream when from a room close to mine a yell burst forth "NOOOOOOOO!" I jolted upright and instinctively grabbed for the gold coin I always left on my bedside table.

Hazel's eyes were wide, and when I stared at her she simply gasped out "Nico" before charging into the hall.

After yanking on a pair of jeans I was out the door and right behind her. By the time we reached Nico's room at the far end of the corridor, we had been joined by a still sleepy Piper and surprised looking Frank. Without slowing down, we all barged into Nico's room with our hands at the ready.

I don't quite know what I had been expecting. Maybe a monster had somehow got in, but most likely Nico was just waking up from a nightmare/dream/vision.

What I was NOT expecting to find was a shivering, fully dressed boy bracing himself against his bed with scared wide open eyes and looking much paler than usual.

"Nico, what's wrong! What happened?" I asked him. I was scared, and yet I managed to surprise myself with the amount of worry I heard in my voice. I guess after taking place as semi-leader of our expedition, Nico had gained a considerable amount of respect.

"It-The… Tartarus… Found them- They… DIE! And I couldn't…tell…" Nico was clearly distressed, and he was shaking so badly it was a wonder he hadn't fallen over yet.

I had never really seen him look anything other than annoyed, thoughtful, brooding, bored, or tired, but now he was just completely shocked.

Hazel pushed to the front of the group and carefully helped her brother sit back down on his bed. After a few seconds of calming silence, she placed a hand on his shoulder and asked "Nico, what happened? What did you dream of?"

She must have been the least surprised out of all of us, but that was probably because Nico had revealed himself more to her than anyone else. Her voice was filled with kindness and worry for the brother who had saved her from the Underworld. Having been so clear-minded, she had immediately realized Nico must have dreamt, or done… something along those lines.

After taking one last deep, calming breath, Nico began "Not a dream, I was meditating and I... saw them. Percy and Annabeth. They-"

Immediately there was a recollection of gasps around the room, and everyone started asking their own questions. "Really?" "How?" "Are they ok?" "Seriously?" "No way!" "STOP!" I practically bellowed, and immediately everybody stopped. "Cut Nico some slack, guys, and let him talk."

Shooting nervous glances at Hazel (who was currently death-staring everyone for interrupting Nico) they calmed down.

"Sorry Nico."

I did a double take.

Nico was _smiling_, and even more surprising, _chuckling_ softly at our antics.

This was probably the most emotion I had ever seen him portray willingly. After a few seconds he stopped and then grimaced at our awed faces.

"Sorry. It's just that… you all looked so embarrassed, and Hazel was glaring at you, and…Whatever."

He shook his head, and his mood became totally serious once again, but he did seem slightly embarrassed being caught laughing for some reason.

He continued from where he had left off "Since I've been in, you know-Tartarus- before, I was able to imagine their surroundings and picture myself with them. They seemed to be in ok shape. Right when I 'arrived', Percy was just finishing off the Minotaur again. I think Annabeth had jumped on its back to distract it or something, because she fell down when it dissolved."

There were gasps around the room again, but this time nobody started talking. Nico just rolled his eyes somewhat knowingly, but also a bit sadly "He caught her, of course."

I grinned. It's funny that we would be more worried about Annabeth falling than them re-killing the Minotaur.

"After that they were sort of just walking. It seemed like only a minute later, but really it was probably a day, that Annabeth pulled Percy over to some rocks to look at something. I turned away then to look at something behind them, and-" this time it was me who interrupted. (Let's just blame my ADHD for this one, shall we?)

"Wait, what do you mean by "it seemed like a minute but was probably a day"?"

Nico looked at me strangely, and I was about to apologize again for interrupting when he just sighed.

Hazel glanced at him worriedly, and I had that odd feeling that they had talked alone and knew more than they had shared.

He was about to speak again when Leo barged in. His announcement: Get the hell ready because something bad is about to happen.

I charged out the door with the others close behind, just as the _Argo_'s alarms sounded.

**Hey! Whoever reads this, I would LOVE it if you would review or PM me! Also sorry that it's so repetitive, but I'm introducing the different POV's, and frankly this is just what comes from having Nico Dreamtravel. **

**Questions? Helpful criticism? Have a comment? Think the story is good? **_**REVIEW!**_

**Thanks for reading, Dragonwriter, out!**


	4. PLEASE READ (nothing bad)

**HEY! So… for everybody following this story, I'm **_**NOT**_** STOPPING IT OR PUTTING IT ON PAUSE! **

**I'm just letting you know about its situation. ;)**

**Just wanted to let you know that:**

**a) I am rewriting the previous chapters**

**b) None of this fic is pre-written and that is why I might take a bit longer to update usually, and it is also the reason that I am rewriting**

**Don't worry, I will probably update another chapter at MOST within 4 weeks, so plz just keep following and be prepared to reread and such! :D**

**Thanks for reading this! Dragonwriter, out! (for now…)**


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